Larry Page to replace Eric Schmidt as Google's CEO

Google has announced upcoming managerial changes that will see Eric Schmidt step down from his decade-long run as chief executive. Starting April 4, Google co-founder Larry Page will replace Eric Schmidt as the company's CEO. Schmidt will become Google's executive chairman and will focus on making external deals, partnerships, and government outreach.

"We've been talking about how best to simplify our management structure and speed up decision making for a long time. By clarifying our individual roles we'll create clearer responsibility and accountability at the top of the company," Schmidt explains. "Larry is ready to lead and I'm excited about working with both him and Sergey for a long time to come."

While Larry Page manages Google's day-to-day operations, co-founder Sergey Brin will work on new products and strategic projects. Despite their separate roles, Schmidt noted that all three have been equally involved in making decisions over the last 10 years, and that's not going to change. "We will continue to discuss the big decisions among the three of us."

Along with that announcement, Google has reported reported revenues of $8.44 billion for the fourth quarter ending December 31, an increase of 26% from the same period in 2009. Net income rose 29% to $2.54 billion or $7.81 per share. Some 67% of Google's revenue was derived from its own sites while 30% was earned from partner sites.